The Mayor of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, took part in a high-level event focused on TIPS4UA – Training and Internship Programme Support for Ukrainian Municipalities, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (URC2025) held in Rome. The event spotlighted local and regional partnerships as essential tools for Ukraine’s post-war recovery and long-term resilience.
Representing the Polish city of Gdańsk, which has been actively engaged in supporting Ukrainian municipalities, Mayor Dulkiewicz presented a set of concrete proposals to strengthen the TIPS4UA initiative, including:
- Expanding the TIPS4UA programme as a ready-to-use tool for local recovery in Ukraine.
- Increasing the number of Ukrainian participants, including through online modules.
- Extending the programme to other Eastern Partnership countries. Gdańsk plans to apply lessons learned from TIPS4UA to upcoming cooperation with municipalities in Moldova (study visit planned for Autumn 2025).
- Introducing microgrants (€25,000–50,000) for project documentation preparation.
- Simplifying administrative procedures (e.g. visas, insurance) for host cities.
These proposals build on Gdańsk’s strong record of engagement with Ukraine, including the Gdańsk–Lviv Memorandum of Understanding, a PLN 1 million contribution to the UNBROKEN Center in Lviv, and the ‘Gdańsk Helps Ukraine’ refugee support programme.
Aleksandra Dulkiewicz said: "Night after night, Russia is killing civilians as they sleep. Part of the purpose of this terror is to break the capacity of Ukraine's emergency services and local administrations. Local officials are on the frontline in the war – they need our help. And they will be pioneers in Ukraine's recovery – so we need to invest time, effort and money to support them. Decentralisation has helped Ukraine incredibly: that needs to be clearly understood. So, Ukraine's recovery must also continue decentralisation reforms. Decentralisation is resilience. It has helped save Ukraine's independence and, as Poland's experience shows, strong regions will help Ukraine be a successful member of the EU."
TIPS4UA, a European initiative, aims to strengthen the local capacity of Ukrainian municipalities through practical exchange, training, and mentoring. It enables Ukrainian local officials to gain hands-on experience in EU municipalities and promotes long-term cooperation on rebuilding local governance and public services.
The event took place in the framework of URC2025, the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Hosted in Rome, the conference brought together governments, international organisations, financial institutions, businesses, regions, municipalities, and civil society — all united in their commitment to Ukraine’s recovery and resilience.
URC2025 embraced the Lugano Principles, including a "whole-of-society" approach that underscores the vital role of local and regional actors. One of its four key thematic dimensions focused on the local and regional level, highlighting the importance of Ukraine’s decentralization reform. The conference emphasized the need to empower local self-government and regional administrations with access to financing, capacity-building, and international partnerships.
Gdańsk’s contribution exemplifies the growing leadership of European cities and regions in shaping a bottom-up, inclusive recovery for Ukraine — and in preparing the ground for future EU integration.